Saturday, November 16, 2013

Brand Review: Fit Fully Yours

Once in a while, I'm alerted to a brand that I'd never heard of before. The owner of online bra shop BeautyFull Bras contacted me the other month about reviewing a growing Canadian-based bra brand that she herself had fallen in love with: Fit Fully Yours Lingerie. (note blog policy)

My first impression when looking over the website was that even though the company uses US sizing (which traditionally tends to be more limited), the sizes available are fairly impressive: 30A to 46J (that's 46GG UK). The brand also looks to be expanding sizes in their lines that are more limited - a good sign!

As a UK 28H/US 28K, I'm sized out of just about every brand I can think of that uses US sizing, but luckily for me, the Maxine bra is available in my sister size of US 30J (UK 30GG), so I agreed to give it a whirl! I also enlisted the help of a reviewer, Marie, to try out a few of Fit Fully Yours' other options. Marie, who wears in the 36DD/E range, is lucky enough to generally fit within the Victoria's Secret size range; her recent experiences have largely been with VS-brand bras, in terms of comparison. A big thanks to her for sharing her thoughts!

Smooth Sweetheart in 36DD
The Smooth Sweetheart is available in nine colors in sizes 30-38 A, 30-44 B-F, and 30-38 FF (UK sizing). It retails for $58.

Marie says: "The bra seems like a good standard bra made with decent material. I decided to try the Fawn colorway since I needed a new tan bra (although I did like the other colors available). I liked how in the front the material in between the cups has a slight upward curve. It made the cups seem less bulky and annoying while I was wearing it.

Smooth Sweetheart 36DD

The band was tight. I'm a solid 36 band across the board, but even fastened on the loosest hook, the bra is very firm. However, I like tight bands so this was good for me - it was a "comfy tight". Someone who likes looser bands probably would not care as much for this bra.

Front and side views of Smooth Sweetheart, 36DD

The straps were interesting... I could only adjust them halfway. I have a long torso (bras that advertise as convertible into racerback have too short of straps for me to do that), so the straps had to be loosened all they way for a comfortable fit."

Crystal Smooth in 38DD
The Crystal Smooth comes in five colors, in sizes 32-38 A and 30-40 B-FF (UK sizing), with a retail cost of $59.95. Marie first tried the bra in a 36DD, but found the bra to be too tight in the band and small in the cups. She exchanged for a 38DD (the owner of BeautyFull Bras was great to work with, by the way) and was much happier with the fit, calling it her "new favorite bra!" Her thoughts:

"I really liked the Crystal bra! I generally wear a 36DD, but the 36 band on this bra was way too tight for me (it measured just 35" fully stretched). I went with 38DD instead and it fit perfectly!

36DD Chrystal in turquoise as compared to the 36DD Smooth Sweetheart, top
38DD Chrystal in champagne, bottom

I think the material is super comfy, which definitely makes it nice to
wear all day. It also had a cute little jewel decoration in the center
to add that something special. :) My only dislike was the straps. Again,
you can only adjust them halfway, and the other half is a "fixed" strap.
It's not uncomfortable, but personally I just like being able to adjust
the whole strap.

Front and side views of Crystal Smooth in 38DD

Overall, I think this is a GREAT bra that is very comfortable, but order the band one size bigger then you normally do."

I've also been informed that this bra in particular (as well as many others from the Fit Fully Yours line) works well for augmented breasts. Since it can be very tricky to find a bra that gives a good fit and the right shape for implants, this should be welcome news for many!

Maxine Moulded in 30J (30GG UK sizing)
I tried this bra out in the Ocean Green colorway (it ended up being a very, very light, almost minty green). The Maxine comes in sizes 30-46 D-GG (UK sizing) and five colorways, with a new red color coming out in early 2014. It retails for higher than most of the rest of the brand's offerings (presumably this is largely due to the fact that it comes in more sizes), at $79.95.

In keeping with Marie's experience with the other two bras, the band was definitely firm, measuring
29" fully stretched. My underbust measures 27", and this bra felt snug
to me when fastened on the tightest hooks. It would be ideal, then, for
someone who prefers looser 28 bands, tighter 30 bands, or who considers
themselves "in between" bands.

Maxine, 30J

Fitwise, it was really quite close to being a good fit despite my having to sister-size to a 30 band. I did notice that I got a little bit of empty space in the bottoms of the cup, but not enough to make the bra unwearable. The top edge of the cups seems fairly forgiving, and I'd guess that the cups would work with most breast shapes. The tops of the cup felt a tiny bit empty for me (although the edge of the cup sat nicely against my chest) as I have a more full-on-bottom shape, but I think that this wouldn't happen in my exact right size (and those with a more full-on-top shape would probably get a nice bit of cleavage in this bra).

Maxine Moulded side and front - 30J [30GG]

The straps are halfway adjustable, the band has three hooks, and I'd
call the wires on the more narrow side. The top of the cups and the straps also have an embossed design, which adds a bit of interest and (I found) doesn't show up under shirts. Overall, the look, feel, and style of
the bra reminded me of the nicer bras that one sees in
department stores and Victoria's Secret - it was nice to get to wear the
kind of bra similar to what I see carried in stores for just about the first time. I would consider this bra to be more "full coverage" than the moulded bras I usually wear; it's definitely not as deep a plunge like the Freya Deco (see below).

Deco as compared to Maxine, both 30GG

However, I also didn't find that the bra came up too high - it didn't show under the scoop-neck shirts I tried it with (I'd steer clear of wearing it with very low/wide v-necks, though). The material was comfortable and lightweight, and it's moulded, not padded (for comparison, the Deco has a light layer of padding in between the fabric). And while the bra cups themselves appear a bit pointy rather than completely rounded, I didn't find that the bra gave a pointy shape underneath clothing.

30J Maxine bra under Urkye Skub shirt (36oo/ooo)

Concluding thoughts:

My overall first impression of the Fit Fully Yours brand is a positive one. I think the bras would be ideal for those who prefer a very smooth, "mainstream" looking material, are looking for firmer bands, are looking for sizes that can be hard to find (like 30 bands and 40-46 bands in B-GG cups), and (particularly the Crystal Smooth line) for those who have had a breast augmentation. Personally, I appreciated the decent size range, the range of colors available, and the firm bands. The price point for this brand is on the higher end, but for those within the various "hard to fit" categories, it may well be worth it.

You can find the Fit Fully Yours bras mentioned in this post in stock at at BeautyFull Bras, which offers free shipping.

4 comments:

I tried the maxine in a 34J. I am typically a 34H UK but I decided to give this a whirl. It gave me a square shaped boob. It was really weird. I could have been that it was a little small but nothing was hanging out and there was no quadding. This bra made me understand why molded cups are difficult in G+ sizes. The materials just can't handle the weight of my breasts.

Execellent review and right on target in regards to the band size on the Crystal Smooth bra. Is now my favorite bra, and agree, as I purchased a 30FF my normal size, however way too tight in the band and slightly small in the cups. After reading Marie's review (wish I'd done first), I purchased a 32FF, and it fit perfectly. So yes, definately go up one size in the band, from my experience.Impressed with the quality and great support, not a flimsy skinny strap nor band. Thank you Marie for the review, greatly appreciat it!